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Jules Vasquez reporting
Alex Neal is the pride of the Lion's Den Gym in Ladyville. He's the most promising 23 year old amateur boxer in Belize right now - and on Sunday he will be the main event, going up against the older, heavier, more experience Mohammed Harmouche. But he's unfazed:

Jules Vasquez
"Are you at all intimated? The guy you are fighting against seems to be older and he also seems to be heavier."

Alex Neal, 4-1 AS AN AMATEUR
"I am a youth, he is an old man. There is no way an old can beat a young."

And as we as we watched him work out today, the studied footwork of a prizefighter, the constant repetition to build muscle memory the rolling cadence of the speed bag dazzling combinations and the whirring sound of his rope work - there's no doubt he's the real deal - even with only five fights under his belt:

Alex Neal, 4-1 AS AN AMATEUR
"I use to go to school under the civic center and I used to hear those guys work out every evening, I hear the sounds of the bags. After school I went under the civic center gym and I saw those boys. I was ask if I wanted to start boxing and I went in and from that day up to now I am still here. I like the sports."

And it's also his full time job

Jules Vasquez
"Are you concern that because you don't fight regularly that you might enter the ring and be outmatched in terms of conditioning?"

Alex Neal, 4-1 AS AN AMATEUR
"I don't think I will be outmatched in condition because I stay in shape. Even when I am not at the gym, I am home working out. In the morning when I get up I run and after that I skip and do pushups and do abs, sit-ups, crunches and basically my shadow box. When I am at the gym I do my bag and stuff because I don't have a full time job, I just work out every day - this is my job."

And the man in charge of making him look good on the job is his trainer Clinton Tucker. As he wraps his hands with painstaking precision he knows this young man's fists are his future - and that's why he's trying to develop the sport:

Clinton Tucker, Lion's Den Gym
"The event is actually to develop local fighters in Belize because we have problems every time international fighters come in. We need to have more local events, that is what we are trying to promote."

Tucker is a former boxer himself as can be seen here as he spars with his young prizefighter - and he says discipline and dedication is what's needed:

Clinton Tucker, Lion's Den Gym
"I am well experience with a lot of physical work and stuff like that, so I try to give them the best that I know; a lot of road work techniques. I try to encourage them mentally and talk to them to be wise about the game."

Jules Vasquez
"I know that in the last international match I saw one of Belize's well-known fighters gasping for air and it's a conditioning problem and that when happens when we have regular match."

Clinton Tucker, Lion's Den Gym
"That's on the trainers' part. We have to look into our fighters and the benefit of our fighters because all we do is just try to hustle the sports."

Tucker is also growing the sport by getting females like this seven year old and 23 year old Shenique Michael involved. She's also his niece, so she's been doing drills from she's a kid and it shows in her sharp work on the bag.

She's going into her first fight on Sunday against a more experience boxer, but instead of being nervous, she says, she can't wait:

Jules Vasquez
"You are going into the ring against a more experience fighter. How do you feel?"

Shenique Michael, Lion's Den Gym
"Relax, I can't wait, I feel excited, ready. My strength is in my mind, my power behind the mind because I love to fight, I love competition - I war with men, women, anybody, I am ready for it."

And Tucker says fight fans should be ready for an entertaining ticket of 9 amateur bouts and 3 exhibition matches

Clinton Tucker, Lion's Den Gym
"We want the people look forward to see more boxing and the federation is working hard towards that."

Sunday's event starts at 11:00 am at the Bird's Isle. Tickets are 25 dolalrs for reserve, 10 dollars for general.